Completely.
Her face went blank, and the warmth vanished so quickly that for a moment I wondered whether I had imagined it.
“Is he sick?” she asked.
“No. I just want him home.”
She stared at me for another second.
Then, without saying anything else, she picked up her purse and walked outside.
The door closed behind her.
I hurried to the window and pulled the curtain aside by less than an inch.
Melissa crossed the lawn.
She got into her car.
But instead of driving away, she parked across the street.
Then she turned the engine off.
She remained behind the wheel.
That was when I knew something was seriously wrong.
My hands began to shake.
I called the police.
I moved into the kitchen so Ethan wouldn’t hear every word.
I told the dispatcher that my son’s bus driver had warned me about our nanny.
I explained that Ethan was frightened, that Melissa had refused to leave the area, and that she was sitting in her car directly across from our home.
